


Dear Santa

by DragonChalice



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Bunny Pool Escapee, Christmas, Gen, Harry Potter Senses Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Severus Snape Adopts Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 19:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonChalice/pseuds/DragonChalice
Summary: Harry has sent a letter to Santa. Except the letter ends up in the hands of Severus Snape. Why do the scrawled contents alarm him so??A quick peek on the boy to reassure himself can't do any harm right?





	Dear Santa

**Author's Note:**

> For Trickster32.
> 
> Inspired by The Bunny Pool #68.
> 
> Minor edits made 12/15/18. 
> 
> And 12/16/18 as I discover more odd spacing errors...

[December 20th 1986; Cokeworth, England; 8 am]

The doorbell of the run-down muggle house rang insistently. With a growl of frustration, Severus Snape pried the door open and glared at the woman on the stoop. The postwoman merely glanced at the man before holding out a hand. In her gloved grip was a single letter.

Wanting to slam the door and then bang his head against the wall, Severus realized that the muggle wasn’t leaving until he took the stupid thing. Brief shock ran through his brain as he found himself staring into brilliant green eyes. Huffing softly as the woman wished him ‘Merry Christmas’ and departed from his door, Severus shut the door to keep out the cold.

Making his way to the kitchen, and closer to the trash, Severus finally turned his attention to the letter. Peering down at the address, Severus Snape wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. A letter send by the Potter brat to Santa.

 _Probably wants the latest toy…_ Severus thought darkly, tempted to burn it right there. But he found himself intrigued by the fact that it had been delivered to _him_ of all people. Finally his fingers move, not to tear it up but open it and remove the contents within.

 _**Dear Santa,** _

_**I wish for a family, who loves me like I am.** _

_**I am a good boy, but my aunt, uncle and cousin always call me** _ _~~**freak** ~~ _ _**.** _

_**I can do a lot, cooking, gardening and even cleaning the house, even better than Aunt' Tun**_ _ **e**_ _ **y.** _

_**I want a Daddy, who reads with me, tug me in and calls me his little boy.** _

_**I can't do anything against those** _ _~~**freaky accidents.** ~~ _ _**I'll try, but it happens all the time, and then I have to spend days without food and water into my cupboard.** _

_**Please, Mr. Santa - I just want a home, nothing else.** _

_**Kind Regards Harry** _ _~~**Freak** ~~ _ _**Potter.** _

The letter falls from his shocked hands. The boy-who-lived had been sent to live with Petunia? Severus can recall the sheer joy he and Lily gained from calling that killjoy shrew ‘Tuney’. Unbidden an image of Lily smiling at him came to the front of his mind.

He had sworn a vow to protect Lily’s boy… Severus reread the letter several times. The contents were worrying. Days without food and water? His cupboard? A tendril of concerned guilt wormed its way into his stomach. Tossing the paper down on the kitchen table Severus makes a snap decision. He storms upstairs, changes into muggle attire and promptly exits his house with the letter and envelope in his pocket, appearing with a small crack just outside of the address on the envelope. He quickly disillusioned himself to avoid detection. It hadn’t even been an hour since that damn postwoman.

A quick locating charm shows the boy is outside the house. With a growl Severus follows it …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---------------------------

Harry sat on an empty park bench. Rubbing his cold hands together, Harry couldn’t help but think about his last letter to Santa sent a mere two days ago. Truthfully, Harry wasn't sure that Santa could really help him. But he had to try it again. Luckily he had found anything he needed in a box on the attic, to send the letter, and now he hoped and prayed his hardest, that this time Santa hadn't put him on the naughty list again. He wasn't naughty, but sometimes freaky things happened around him, which enraged the Dursleys and got him a beating before being sent into the cupboard without food.

His clothes were Dudley’s cast-offs and far too big on him. Harry tried to keep warm but the material was so baggy on him that was hard. Harry can sense that another person has entered the park and is coming towards him. Thankfully it wasn’t Dudley but… Harry dared to sneak a glance and found the park was empty but the person was still there.

“Hello?” Harry called out sensing this person meant him no harm. His voice cracks due to thirst. “How are you invisible?” He mutters to himself, unaware that his watcher has excellent hearing.

A man seem s to glide forward from nowhere to the edge of the bench on the empty side. Shocked, Harry steals longer a glance, unknowingly giving the man a good look at his brilliant and oh so familiar emerald eyes, before swallowing his nervousness. It wouldn’t do for him to be rude, that would just get back to Uncle Vernon.

“Hello Sir.” Harry wishes he’d thought to eat some snow so his voice wasn’t so dry.

“May I sit?” Came the gruff response causing Harry to nearly jump off the bench. A Freak shouldn’t… “Next to you I mean...” The man voice sounds odd as though understanding Harry’s instinct.

“O… Okay. If- you really want to. I don’t mind standing ...” Harry’s brain was trying not to short-circuit at the thought of someone willing to be near him.

“Nonsense.” The man growls before sitting down next to Harry, who can feel the warmth of the man easily due to proximity. “What’s your name little one?”

“Harry.”

The sound of wrinkled paper echos loudly to Harry moments before the man speaks again. “Harry of Number 4 Privet Drive?” The man questions causing Harry to nearly jump again.

“Yes Sir. But-” His eyes widen as the envelope he’d written out two days ago is presented to him. “ Did Santa send you?! Are you magic and that’s how you were invisible?! I promise I haven’t been naughty…” Harry’s excitement quickly shifts to worry “At least, I don’t think I have been.” He amends his outburst with a bit of sadness.

Oh no. The magic man is staring at him and not making a sound. He’s just opening his mouth and closing it…

Severus Snape has been rendered speechless. Like a guppy, he can only silently open and close his mouth, as his mind struggles to make sense of everything that’s occurred in the last fifteen minutes.

The boy can sense magic and knew he was there under disillusionment, but clearly he doesn’t know of true magic. Asking if he’d been sent by Santa! The boy was six and clearly not being taken care of. Through the ill-fitting clothes Severus can see bruising in multiple stages of healing.

So much for just observing the br- boy. Now he’s somehow sitting next him and make conversation to boot! Now... what should he do. Luckily, Harry solves the issue by jumping up and babbling about being late back to his relatives and cleaning. Before giving him weak smile and running off.

Trying to compose himself, Severus remains behind for several minutes. Pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation, Severus finally stands and follows Harry back to his home. Just in time to hear shouting and…

A quick alohomora and the front door is open, allowing Severus to sneak in. A massive whale of a man is screaming at the boy about snow, being ungrateful and other rot while hitting the boy with a broken plate . Blood roars in his ears as Severus moves like an avenging angel using wandless magic.

The whale is stupefied as is ‘Tuney’ who was watching. A baby whale is the living room watching TV, comes out due to the crash its father makes. It too is stunned as Snape quickly begins to tend to the bleeding boy, moved from the table to the couch, who remained frozen and motionless the whole time.

A confused gaze meets his own as Harry quickly melts into his touch. Having rubbed several healing salves into the boy’s flesh, Severus can’t help but continue a while longer, sending Harry to sleep. Seeing as the boy has such a tight hold of his cloak, Severus easily slips it off and wraps him in it. This allows Severus to examine the cupboard mentioned in the letter.

Seeing the baby blanket, a gift he gave Lily, folding so neatly over a crib mattress really drives deep that this is Harry's home. Squeezing inside, Severus shifts to sitting as if he were Harry and tries to imagine living here. The cracking ice around his heart shatters completely. After casting a spell to record all the evidence, and including pictures of the cupboard, Severus slowly makes his way back to a still sleeping Harry.

At his light touch Harry snapped awake with fear clear in his eyes. Severus manages a smile which seems to calm the boy down. Harry starts to get off the couch only to stop in confusion. Turning back to Severus, Harry wonders aloud “My back don’t hurt...”

Severus smirks, which is caught by Harry. The smart young boy puts two and two together in awe “Magic man… you helped me?”

“I did indeed.”

“Thank you!”

It seems like the path forward is clear. The boy clearly can’t stay here. Severus shakes his head as the only option is to take Harry and raise him. Severus turns to Harry, whose standing on the floor watching him.

“Harry. I have a very serious and important question to ask you.” Severus begins easily holding the young boys gaze…


End file.
